Is this the beginning of the End, of our beautiful game...?

[InOffMeLeftShin]

Let's not encourage the b*st*rds.

If these were exhibition matches, it would be stupid enough. But to add an extra EPL match to the season, with points counting towards the final league position, is an outrage and a disgrace.

I'll be keeping an eye on which broadcasters, newspapers and so-called "football writers" actively promote this corrupt circus.

Whether it is actively promoted or massively opposed you think it will make any difference. None of us want it to happen, but if the people with the money and power want it to happen then it will.

 

[Zapsta]

Fuckin hell Zap, I'm not saying I want them to do it. I think it is a terrible idea, but at the end of the day money is going to talk and what say are going to get in it? Fuck all.

I'm saying you do, I'm just saying why they won't pit teams against similarly positioned teams. Although it would be quite funny. Like "PORTUGAL vs MEXICO". Lol.

 

[Kendall]

Our beautiful game died when sky first took over the prem

 

[ollie_spurs]

Random draw except for the top 5?? And it counts towards the league?? I would be amazed if all teams agreed to this. Can they get any more out of touch with the fans?

 

[LSUY]

"Get your ticket now to see the soccer event of the season: WIGAN vs MIDDLESBROUGH at Giants Stadium!"

:rofl: That would be great. Imagine the amount of PR needed in order to sell that game.

The Premier League might as well allow the LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, etc., to join the league.

The only way these games can go ahead is if Arsenal are forced to play in Baghdad.

 

[JamesTheYiddo]

This would kill our game.

 

[Bonjour]

This is what happens when you let too much American money into the sport..

 

[Bill_Oddie]

Great point from Ozspur. I agree that anyone saying that this move is unfair on 'the fans' needs a poke in the eye. This is a move that actually extends the rights of 'fans', and gives more of them the chance to see the team they love. People from Northumberland or Nottingham don't necessarily love Spurs any less than those who live in N17. That surely must extend to Nicaragua or Nagasaki.

And as IOMLS has already demonstrated (with the mid-season 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, 5 vs 6, etc idea) this could be workable. The details just need sorting.

Still. Its a long way off yet.

 

[Zapsta]

Great point from Ozspur.

No it's not. It serves you right for being a traitor. YOU DON'T DESERVE SPURS.

 

[Bill_Oddie]

:lol: Well, maybe, err...SPURS DON'T DESERVE ME!

Get outta that one.

 

[idlepete]

With all your funny foreign channels you expats get to see more of Spurs than poor people like me who can't afford to get the Lane.

This sounds like a typically retarded idea to me.

 

[lilywhitecurtis]

Money talks. The game is going down the pan.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

Change is inevitable unfortunately.

It is not always a bad thing. I don't think this will be 100% a disaster if it happens.

 

[Bill_Oddie]

In fact, the more I think about it, the more positives there are.

There would be no trouble at all in selling a 100,000 seater stadium on any continent for an EPL (vomit, I apologise to my family, friends, and educators for using that vile acronym, but when in Rome...) match.

That kind of atmosphere and experience is surely only going to benefit the players. As is the publicity and marketing buzz around their appearance. The Japan/Korea world cup seemed a new world for many players. If they played there every year, surely thats a benefit?

And playing in front of bigger crowds must also be a plus. Even if the intimidation is not necessarily there. It may even level the playing field so that more often than not the better side wins.

Finally, I thought the beginning of the end of football was when we no longer played all our games at 3pm on a Saturday. I suppose none of us watch the Sunday afternoon or Monday night games...

 

[deathtoarsenal]

Fuck football. I love the sport, but it's become a hideous monster and that happened long ago. There's so much wrong with it that I don't even know where to begin.

I can honestly say that I'd be willing to take part in any kind of protest against a move like this - violent, if necessary.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

Fuck football. I love the sport, but it's become a hideous monster and that happened long ago. There's so much wrong with it that I don't even know where to begin.

I can honestly say that I'd be willing to take part in any kind of protest against a move like this - violent, if necessary.

Would be a complete waste of your time and energy. They couldn't give two fucks about what you think really. If ESPN want to outbid Sky on the next TV deal and then investors decide to go ahead with this plan then they will. We are talking Billions of dollars/euros/pounds so some fans protests aren't going to do anything.

Like others have said the so called beautiful game has been changed so many times, the rules have changed, the money has changed. This destroying our game notion is a bit of a fallacy to be honest. It will effect the game itself less than the changes in offsides, the introduction of yellow and red cards etc. Globalisation is going to happen. I don't like the idea but will people stop using the reason it will destroy our beautiful game as a reason for it to not happen. It is a rubbish answer.

 

[idlepete]

The league will no longer be about competition on a level playing field. I know you could argue that it isn't anyway, but at least you could still put a counter argument together that it's eleven men against eleven men, everyone playing each other twice, home and away. Once that's gone, the league loses its relevance. It goes against the very idea of sporting competition, never mind football.

 

[yanno]

We all know that football clubs are multi-million pound businesses, and want to "maximize brand awareness" around the globe so that they can sell even more over-priced merchandise.

But.... surely that's what friendlies and pre-season tours are about? Ferguson even took the ManU first team off to the middle east (was it Dubai?) for a testimonial/brand spreading friendly a fortnight ago.

However, I see no reason why the EPL schedule should be artificially messed around by adding these Mickey Mouse x v y matches just to squeeze out a little extra profit.

In practice, it's 100% certain that the methodology used to determine these extra fixtures would produce some clearly anamolous matches, and would end up favouring one team over another. Fans will feel bitter and cheated.

IOMLS is correct that if the clubs want to press ahead with these plans, they will happen. But next time the clubs start bleating about the pointlessness of international friendlies and how potentially damaging they are for their fragile players, they'll have zero sympathy from me.

 

[mkkid]

Our beautiful game died when sky first took over the prem

:bow::bow:

So true!

 

[CosmicHotspur]

This really doesn't surprise me although it disappoints me.

Football has been big business for some years now and it will grow even bigger where there's more profit to be made. Changes have already been made to accommodate TV contracts and we've had to adjust to those.

Money talks louder than anything else in sport nowadays so this will no doubt happen and there will be nothing we can do about it, even if we hate it.

I don't feel comfortable with it but who's going to care about my feelings - or yours?